OPEC agenda points to short meeting to set oil policy

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LONDON (Reuters) - A draft agenda for OPEC’s meeting on Nov. 30 in Vienna pencils in three hours for the group’s oil ministers to decide whether to extend their oil supply curbs, indicating that decision-making is expected to run smoothly.

The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pictured at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

The members of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and nine other producers are curbing oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day until March 2018. They are expected to extend the deal at the Vienna meeting.

Three hours would be a short meeting by the standards of OPEC, whose gatherings have in the past sometimes stretched into the early hours of the morning as ministers argued about policy.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Nov. 7 the group was seeking to achieve consensus before the meeting on how long to extend the pact on curbing production.

A closed session of just OPEC ministers and the secretary general is scheduled to begin at 1200 noon (1100 GMT), according to the agenda posted on OPEC’s website.

This will be followed at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) by a combined meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC ministers and delegates. After that, there will be a news conference.

The full agenda is as follows:

10 a.m. (0900 GMT): Opening session of the 173rd meeting of the conference, with attendance by all OPEC heads of delegation, delegates and journalists.

1200 noon (1100 GMT): Closed session of the 173rd meeting of the conference, with attendance by OPEC heads of delegation and the OPEC secretary general

3 p.m. (1400 GMT): Third OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting

Opening Session: Attendance by all OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries’ heads of delegation and delegates, journalists.

Plenary Session: Attendance by all OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries’ heads of delegation and delegates

Closed Session: Attendance by all OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries’ heads of delegation and the OPEC secretary general

Time to be confirmed: Joint news conference by the president of the OPEC conference, Russia’s energy minister and the OPEC secretary general.